NASHVILLE — A state law that bans in-session fundraising for Tennessee legislators would not apply to Rep. Vince Dean, R-East Ridge, if he runs for Hamilton County sheriff since it is a local office, according to a state official.
“(A) legislator may accept contributions during session for a local office,” wrote Tennessee Registry of Election Finance Executive Director Drew Rawlins in a Feb. 13 e-mail to Rep. Dean. “However, there are restrictions on the fundraising for a local office.”
Mr. Rawlins was unavailable for further comment.
If he becomes the nominee, Rep. Dean could hold no fundraising outside Hamilton County while the General Assembly is holding its annual legislative session. Donors would have to be from Hamilton County. He also would be prohibited from raising campaign funds from any lobbyists or employer of a lobbyist.
The session often runs into late May or early June, although optimistic leaders this year think they can adjourn by mid-April.
Rep. Dean, a retired Chattanooga police lieutenant and former East Ridge mayor, is vying for the GOP nomination for sheriff in a special party convention March 27. The qualifying deadline is April 3. The general election is Aug. 7.
“I asked for that early on,” Rep. Dean said Thursday of the Registry opinion, which he supplied when asked about potential fundraising issues.
“I want to try to be one step ahead and have all of these opinions out of the way in case I do get the nomination, so I know exactly where I stand and make sure that I’m doing things legally and not get outside the confines of what I can and can’t do,” he said.
Former Hamilton County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Jim Hammond, another Republican hopeful, said he had not known about the in-session fundraising ban, let alone that it would not apply to lawmakers running for local offices.
“I think that’s a reasonable thing,” Mr. Hammond said.
“Since he and I are trying to get the same nod, I guess it really doesn’t make any difference,” Mr. Hammond said. “If he gets it, he’ll use whatever sources he can legally raise from, and if I get it, I’ll do the same thing.”
Mr. Hammond said he and other candidates continue to wait for the delegates to be certified so they can start contacting their electorate in an “old fashioned caucus.”
“Those are the ones who will decide on the 27th,” Mr. Hammond said. “I’m going to do my best. This is something I’ve had a passion for for many years.”
Other Republicans seeking the GOP nomination include Chattanooga Police Lt. Tim Carroll, Hamilton County Chief Ranger Fred Fuson and former Red Bank Police Chief Ronnie Dodd.
Efforts to reach Democratic nominee Greg Beck were unsuccessful.
The in-session fundraising ban was passed in the 1990s and is intended to keep state lawmakers running for re-election from accepting money from interests simultaneously pushing legislation before them.
Had the ban applied to local offices, it could potentially have caused Rep. Dean problems, the lawmaker acknowledged.
Andy Sher is a Nashville-based staff writer covering Tennessee state government and politics for the Times Free Press. A Washington correspondent from 1999-2005 for the Times Free Press, Andy previously headed up state Capitol coverage for The Chattanooga Times, worked as a state Capitol reporter for The Nashville Banner and was a contributor to The Tennessee Journal, among other publications. Andy worked for 17 years at The Chattanooga Times covering police, health care, county government, ...
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